this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2024
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[–] [email protected] 315 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (6 children)

#womeninmalefields is describing common situations and phrases that women experience and turning them upside down by switching genders.

The analogy to this one would be a man telling a surgeon to surgically tighten a woman's vagina after giving birth. This is a common and disgusting joke.

[–] [email protected] 276 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Common and disgusting, but unfortunately not always a joke. You probably know this but for the benefit of others who may not be aware, the Husband Stitch is a real thing that used to be pretty commonly done regardless of what the woman wanted and often without her foreknowledge or consent. It's an extra stitch or two placed when sewing a woman back up after a vaginal tear or episiotomy during labor. The purpose is to make the woman "tighter" so her husband can still enjoy having sex with her even though she's given birth, which is staggeringly misogynistic and cruel. And it usually results in really painful sex for the woman because her vaginal opening is artificially small plus now it has inflexible scar tissue. It's a horrific thing to do to a woman, especially after giving birth.

[–] felykiosa 82 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

still enjoy having sex with her

If you need that to enjoy your partner you don't deserve them. That disgusting

[–] [email protected] 61 points 2 weeks ago

Thank you for providing additional information!

[–] [email protected] 47 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Another thing to note is that the episiotomy itself is no longer a recommended procedure for routine births. The incision lengthens recovery time and brings complications of its own.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, medical violence is a thing and many professionals, even when saying the episiotomy is a decision for the woman, put it in such a way that the message conveyed is that the episiotomy makes giving birth easier and quicker. What is witheld is that it makes it easier for them.

Giving birth was turned into a surgical event, when it is only a phisiological one.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Speaking as someone who would have been stillborn if not for a C-section, there are some surgical procedures that are kind of important.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A C-section is a surgical act and extremely important as it has the potential to save lifes, both of mothers and children.

The matter at hand is not about deeming all medical acts performed during a delivery as useless but to acknowledge that many are performed routinely without need and even without the agreement, previous information or consent of the woman and mother to be.

One such is that oh-so-important act being routenily abused, with doctors pushing it to women with the argument that it is the safest way to plan the delivery. But planning a delivery is only a concern for the physician. If a pregnancy is normal under all aspects and there are no telling signs the delivery will be complicated, why point women to an unnecessary surgical act?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Giving birth was turned into a surgical event, when it is only a phisiological one.

How can a woman give birth without the machine that goes PING?

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I was under the impression it was forthe woman's benefit, that it is easier for a cut to heal than a tear. Is that not the case? Is the risk of tearing overblown?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

I think you actually have that backward. In general, a jagged tear heals quicker than an incision because there is more surface area in contact between the two pieces, so a larger number of cells can be working to repair the tissue. That said, I'm not a doctor and it's been 10 years since my wife and I looked into this before our first kid, so I may be misremembering.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

These days, an epesiotomy is done to direct the tear. If the tear is allowed to happen spontaneously, it can go through nerves, arteries, and pelvic floor muscles, greatly increasing the chances of permanent problems with things like prolapses or fistulas at worst, and more commonly, long term problems with incontinence.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Nope, you got it right: my wife had to c-sections and afaik they cut just enough tissue to make possible to tear it apart. It healed very well.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Glad your wife healed well; my wife had three c-sections and the first one was done by a very old-school OB in an emergency situation, so she never stood a chance. That said, even old-school c-sections are better than my wife and son dying in childbirth, so I'm still grateful for modern medicine, but it would have been nice if it was a little more "modern"

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 2 weeks ago

Yep, a useful comment. I had no idea about such a thing.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago

... Jesus fucking Christ...

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

To add to your "for the benefit of others" explanation, this is also not a historical relic. It's still happening.

I work with refugees and a lot of women escaping fundie warzones are living with variations of this nightmare. So much mutilation, as little girls, preteens, post-giving-birth... Infections are common, tearing is common, and sex is torture. I've been doing this job long enough that I recognize the walk.

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[–] [email protected] 87 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Jesus Christ, what kind of sick person comes up with stuff like that?

[–] [email protected] 112 points 2 weeks ago

After the mother gives birth to a healthy baby boy, the father leans to the doctor and whispers “how long until we can have sex?”. The doctor replies, “I clock off at 3.”

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I worked for a man that thought it would be a funny thing to say soon after the delivery.

Look, I'm a guy. I laughed, until his (now ex) said that he actually said it.

I mean come on. It's funny as a joke, you don't ACTUALLY say that to a delivery nurse, my god.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, people who act like it could never be funny are insufferable and people who actually do it are psychos.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (11 children)

Ok but in this case it's men, specifically. That is what the hashtag is about.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

That's very generalising though.

Personally, I try to avoid that whenever possible.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not just a joke. It’s a thing that used to be more common but is still sometimes done.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 weeks ago

Thanks for explaining it, wouldn't have understood it otherwise.

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[–] [email protected] 68 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Jesus christ, it feels like everyday I learn a new dreadful horror about American life. How the fuck have we not run out of these creepy facts yet? The country is soo fucked up, I swear to god... It's honestly hard to belive it's a real place, it didn't really sink in how much of a shit hole it is until I saw it my self... It's a twilight world where pain is a virtue for some reason.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Wait, was/is that only a thing here‽

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Edit: misread. I thought you asked what this was about. Yeah, I'm sure it wasn't just here.

~~Men would sometimes have doctors add an extra stitch to women after childbirth to make them tighter. I think I've even heard sometimes doctors did it without concent of either party. Some women didn't even know it was done until they had complications and found out.~~

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

It's called the husband stitch and it is exactly as horrid as it seems if not moreso. Hopefully a dying trend.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

i dont get it :<

somewone pws explain the joke to me

[–] [email protected] 62 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not sure if it was ever actually done or just urban legend but there used to be something called “the husband stitch” where an OBGYN would add another stitch while repairing an episiotomy (when a woman tears a bit giving childbirth) supposedly to make her vagina tighter. A lot of things there don’t add up, but that’s what the joke is about.

[–] [email protected] 100 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Oh, it's real. This was offered for my sister-in-law.

[–] InEnduringGrowStrong 64 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Not too long ago, this was also "offered" in the case of my sister.
The extra yucky part is it was offered to her husband without even her knowledge or consent.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Husband stitch that doctor's mouth so they never make that suggestion again. Men should not be allowed near OB.

[–] InEnduringGrowStrong 13 points 2 weeks ago

"I can punch you in the face so you need the stitches" would be my answer.
Although odds are I'd only come up with it a few days later in the shower.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago
[–] Noel_Skum 30 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Circumcision, fgm, the so-called husband stitch… wtf, people? If you’ve got genitals you’re happy with it seems a challenge just to keep them intact against the lunatics who want to chop and stitch. What is wrong with humans?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago

Probably even more dangerous in the back tbh

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

The adding "rule" makes anything cool rule.

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